82 – The Muscle-Brained Prince Reassessed

“W-when did this happen!?”

“And it’s made of hard sealing magic stone, no less?”

 “Who would do something like this…?”

The nobles who supported Siegfried stood agape at the sight of the royal capital I’d repaired, mouths open like their jaws might fall off.

“So that means there’s no talk of moving the capital to Zeekun, right?”

 “Of course our house will invest in the capital’s reconstruction, bofuu.”

“Zeekun” was the name of the town those Siegfried-backing nobles were building in his honor. If the capital relocated, it was obvious they’d be slated to pocket huge concessions.

Omoneel slid a hand onto the shoulder of each astonished noble, and Kobiwul puffed out his chest, brimming with pride.

“Kukuku… strange things happen in this world. Who would have thought the royal capital’s buildings would be fixed… as befits Lieben, with its five-hundred years of history — the work of the guardian fairies, perhaps.”

There’s no way I could go on stage and say, “Yes, I did this.” That’d be embarrassing.

It’s not like I did it because I wanted praise from everyone or anything!

But contrary to my feelings, the nobles began to criticize me in chorus.

“How shameless…”

 “This ridiculousness must be the doing of Prince Brad… it must be Prince Brad who did it!”
 

“Be ashamed to prepare such a papier-mâché city out of jealousy for Prince Siegfried!”

““““Yes, yes!””””

I didn’t say I did it — not a single word. Neither did Omoneel or Kobiwul. Nevertheless, the nobles treated us as if we’d committed some crime.

Then someone cut in.

“Hold your tongues, you fools!”

 “Indeed, forgetting Brad-sama’s magnanimous measures is worse than bestial, bofuu.”

Omoneel, usually calm and collected, somehow adopted Brad’s cadence and put the nobles in their place, and Kobiwul similarly stirred them up.

“Brad-sama’s wish reached the heavens and was granted. Why can’t you understand even so…”

 “Brad-sama is now beloved by the gods and can perform miracles! To defy Brad-sama is to blaspheme the gods, bofuu.”

Uh — aren’t the two of them taking it a little far?

To be frank, I’ve never felt any divine favor. At best it’s Freesia and Lily… and Megumi’s… no, thinking that my little sister is in love with me is a massive misunderstanding and kind of gross.

Unable to counter Omoneel and Kobiwul, the nobles shifted the topic and launched fresh attacks on me.

“E-even if Prince Brad is blessed by the gods, if he repeatedly defiles the Erna Count’s daughters and behaves indecently, that grace will surely vanish!”

 ““““Exactly!!!””””

“To sleep with, in rotation, the saintly Freesia—who is the most beautiful in all of the continent—and her sister Lily every night… how enviable… no, that’s far too indecent!”

Didn’t someone just nearly say “enviable”?

Was that just my imagination?

“Also, the two of them. Why would both sisters try to be Prince Brad’s concubine rather than his wife instead of pairing with Prince Siegfried? It must be that Brad-sama slipped them some aphrodisiac!”

He didn’t! He didn’t!

They’re the ones coming on to me!

Anyway, I did refuse them properly. I told them they didn’t have to come to me anymore.

And not just once or twice.

I persuaded them over and over.

But they wouldn’t let me go…

Do you understand? How I feel?

I knew that if I kept being seen with them, even Freesia and Lily who agreed to a friends-with-benefits arrangement with me would get criticized by Siegfried’s faction nobles.

Even if they privately consent, other people hear about it and recoil, assuming it’s some debauched relationship and deem it improper.

I tried to gently encourage them in pillow talk to marry Siegfried or some other Super darling,” but they always answered, “No way, we don’t want to leave Brad-sama.”

What am I supposed to do?

“Stop it!”

“If you’ve been silently listening, how could you say such terrible things about our Brad-sama!”

A refreshing voice — like ripping a Febreze nozzle off some smelly aristocrat and squirting it straight into their faces — rang out. Two women stepped forward to defend me and scold the nobles.

“I am a sinful saint who raped Brad-sama because I wanted his seed and stole his virginity.”

“I, too, begged and begged not to be outdone by Onee-sama… and I had Brad-sama hold me. I mean, saying I didn’t want to lose is about who loves Brad-sama more! Don’t make me say more!”

My conduct was flaming on par with a nuisance YouTuber, being viciously criticized by the nobles and now more fuel was being poured on the fire…